Why? (question about property rules)

[Potter]

Property question...

Why would an estate block access to your house for one month of every year?

The rules state - "You are bound by occupancy restrictions in that you can only register the property as a second home and that you can only use the property for 11 months of the year. The estate closes access to the property for two, two week periods in winter."

Is it some sort of rule for second homes?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/ ... el=RES_BUY

[Rockburner]

Prevent you renting it out as a permanent home to someone. (or otherwise treating it as a permanent residence).

Although why you can't use it as a permanent residence I couldn't say. (maybe the land-owner simply doesn't want riff-raff cluttering up the place?)

[Mr. Dazzle]

Those periods are when they hold the annual big swinger's meet and Wicker Man style sacrifices, thus they need it kept available.

[MrLongbeard]

Why would an estate block access to your house for one month of every year?

They aren't, the law does.
I can't remember the ins n outs, had a mate who lived in a holiday home many many moons back who had the same restriction

[Yorick]

I've got a mate with a villa in Hayle on campsite style layout.
Has to be out in January and February.

[porter_jamie]

It will be a planning restriction to stop people living there full time.

[Count Steer]

IIRC it's a loophole in planning so that they can build the properties as holiday homes but not permanent residences. There's a place near here that also, when you buy, you must give a permanent residence address (although the person I know there said she has 4 adult children with their own houses so providing an address wasn't difficult. You don't need to own the permanent residence. She retired there and clears off on holiday when they close off the access.

Quite why closing a site for a while each year should allow stuff to be built that otherwise wouldn't be is anyone's guess though. It's not like there'll be reduced traffic or demand on services for the rest of the year if people do choose to live there 11 months of the year.

[MrLongbeard]

No stamp duty or council tax on holiday homes either IIRC

[Count Steer]

No stamp duty or council tax on holiday homes either IIRC

£4.8M is quite a holiday home.

PS This one says Council Tax 'TBC'.

[Sadlonelygit]

Cotswold water park
As has been mentioned, technically it's a holiday home.
You can rub shoulders with various MPs and champions of industry in the clubhouse!

[Count Steer]

Cotswold water park
As has been mentioned, technically it's a holiday home.
You can rub shoulders with various MPs and champions of industry in the clubhouse!

*shudder*

I'll take one if the deal is I can use it only during the closed period.

[Potter]

It looks a lot for what it is and I think it's a bit south of where the cool cats hang out in Chipping Norton, Stow on the Wold and the Tews.
I went to an event last year and I didn't really rate the general area, and apparently my lad reckons Swindon is an absolute dump, so anywhere near there is off the cards.

I just wondered about the strange 11 month rule.

[Cousin Jack]

Weird planning stuff. Lots of residential caravan parks in the SW are restricted to 11 months by the planning permission. What I can never understand is why 11 months residence is OK, whilst 12 months is verboten. It is still a blot on the landscape, and a haven for emmets.

[v8-powered]

It will be a planning restriction to stop people living there full time.

That - lot of horrible static caravan parks have that rule fornrhat very reason...

[Potter]

It will be a planning restriction to stop people living there full time.

That - lot of horrible static caravan parks have that rule fornrhat very reason...

Yeah there are some near us with the same rule, I enquired yesterday, Mrs Potter fancies one because they're on a site with a couple of really well stocked fishing lakes.

They're a couple of hundred grand for the cheapest one and it's a cheaper option than a few million for a log cabin in the Cotswolds but it still doesn't feel like value for money.

[DefTrap]

My in-laws have got a 'holiday maisonette' (nicer than a prefab or a static van but only just) down on the North Devon coast. It's supposed to be only occupied part of the year but it's not really on a site that is feasibly closeable so apparently everybody flouts it. My main problem with these places is that in-season at least half of the properties on the site will be let to a load of shouting feckers enjoying themselves and in the winter it feels like you've been abandoned on pensioner island.

I'm far more intolerant of people in close proximity these days. Travelling last week had me frantcally stretching for my earphones on numerous occasions to spare me overhearing yet another inane converation in queues to board aircraft.

[Cousin Jack]

Be careful and READ THE CONTRACT. You are not buying a house, with all the safeguards provided by housing law. This is a contract, it can impose any sort of rules it likes. Quite often these include

Buy caravan only from site company
Sell caravan only to site company
Pay site rent as determined by site company
No caravan can be more that x years old

I have heard some horror stories, from CA and from friends. Friend gave up their caravan in Dorset, it was costing them £330 a month, and that was a few years back. Main problem is that you have no rights other than the contract, and that is often an annual one. Horror stories include site owner deciding to build houses instead and booting everyone off. Bear in mind that your £200k luxury caravan is worth very little without a site to put it on.

Having said all that there are also some good sites, where people don't get ripped off and they stay there for years.

[DefTrap]

Yes CJ is correct - some of these contracts can make this sort of living relatively expensive.
My folks mobile home cost them 10s of ks and was virtually worthless less than half a dozen years later, plus the annual site fees were worth at least 4 weeks rental of a similar property in high season. A lot of people rent them out mimimum July-August to recoup some of that cost.

[Potter]

I understand your points fully, specifically to these caravan parks, it would be unwise to buy a caravan on a site with the same mentality as buying a house.

It's not a long term investment and you'd have to look at it as a disposable item that may have something like a ten year shelf life then you walk away with nothing. These things are £200k-ish, so over the next ten years you'd need to work out whether you can get £20k a years worth of enjoyment and possible income if you airbnb it as well.

I can only assume the airbnb thing is a big draw because people are falling over themselves to buy the quarter of a million quid ones about a mile from our house, they have an onsite cafe and we go for breakfast sometimes and it's busy all year round, mainly fishermen types.

The Cotswolds thing is another kettle of fish, they aren't £250k caravans, they're exclusive multi-million pound lodges on a private estate.
I haven't seen a contract but you'd be surprised if people were dropping a few million on a site where they might get booted off in favour of a new housing estate in two years time.

[Taipan]

Is it a contract or lease? Either way i'm sure there's an agreed term with 2-way penalties, or no ones dropping anything like millions into one.